CHAPTER II. 
HABITS OF POISONOUS SNAKES. THEIR CAPTURE. 
ALL poisonous snakes are carnivorous. They feed on small 
mammals (rats, mice), birds, batrachians, other reptiles or fish, 
which they kill by poisoning them by means of their fangs. 
They almost always wait until their prey is dead before 
swallowing it. 
Some of them are very fond of eggs, which they well know how 
to find in the nests of birds, and swallow whole. 
When a poisonous snake wishes to seize its prey, or strike an 
_enemy, it raises its head, and depresses the lower and elevates the 
upper jaw in such a way that the fangs are directed straight 
forward. Then, with the quickness of a spring when it is released, 
the reptile makes a sudden dart and strikes its victim. After 
inflicting the wound it draws back, doubles up its neck and head, 
and remains prepared to strike again. 
So rapid is the action of the venom, that the wounded animal 
fails to the ground almost immediately ; it is forthwith stricken 
with paralysis, and dies in a few moments. In most cases the 
snake holds it in its mouth until death ensues; the reptile then 
sets to work to swallow its victim, an operation which is always 
slow and painful. 
In captivity poisonous snakes almost always refuse to take any 
food whatever. If it be desired to keep them for a long time, it 
is often necessary to resort to artificial feeding. For this purpose 
the snake is seized by the head by means of a strong pair of long 
forceps ; it is then grasped by the neck with the left hand without 
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